#pumpkinaday22: Day 11

This pumpkin makes me laugh!  I really like how it is just kind of silly and abandons a lot of the "pumpkin" norms.  My sister has already claimed it! ha ha 

 

#pumpkinaday22: Day 10

The lighting in our house is very challenging at times in regards to picture taking.  This pumpkin is a pretty purple, but it looks super dark here.  Oh well...still sweet! ha ha 

 

#pumpkinaday22: Day 9

I must admit...this is my least favorite.  I did go back in later and change some things, but this picture is the "before".  I'll try to add the "after" later! 

 

#pumpkinaday22: Day 8

This pumpkin is much brighter in person.  

The pumpkin is a deep purple, but here it is almost black. 

 

#pumpkinaday22: Day 7

I really love this pumpkin.  I'm not sure what it is?  It's mouth almost looks hypnotic...like it is calling you to come closer! ha ha 

 

#pumpkinaday22: Day 6

I do think this is my favorite pumpkin so far!  I was a bit inspired from Hocus Pocus I think. I just love how the orange and blue looks so good together! 

 

Uvalde 21 Murals Project: Extended Cut

This is so amazing...powerful...heartbreaking....all the feelings!!

I had not known about this mural project. 

Please watch & remember those who lost their lives in Uvalde.

#pumpkinaday22: Day 5

I think he looks like an alternate universe version of Bob the Tomato from Veggie Tales! ha ha

 

#pumpkinaday22: Day 4

Sometimes I find it hard to get a lot of contrast when using Posca markers. 

 

#pumpkinaday22: Day 3

Here is Day 3's pumpkin!  If you are catching up on what "this" is....I am doing a pumpkin a day for the month of October.  Each year I do things a bit differently. Normally I draw them in a sketch book. This year I found these wood pumpkins at Dollar Tree.  I painted them all a different base color & then am using Posca paint pens to finish them.  Stay tuned for more pumpkins as the month goes on.  

OH....and if you want to join...just post on social media with these hashtags! 

#pumpkinaday22, #artchallenge, 

#octoberartchallenge,

#pumpkinaday 

 

#pumpkinaday22: Day 2

It is not too late to join #pumpkinaday!  

You can use ink, paint, pen, pencil...whatever you want! 

 

#pumpkinaday22: Day 1

 

#pumpkinaday22

 

October Art Challenge: #dollartreeterrors

I posted about this earlier because I wanted everyone to have enough time to get their materials and make a plan!  Now that we are getting closer to the end of September, I wanted to give you all a reminder about #dollartreeterrors.  I'm a huge fan of Dollar Tree, and love all the crafting materials (traditional & otherwise).  I may be doing the #pumpkinaday challenge as well, but knew for sure that a nontraditional art supply crafting opportunity would be super fun! 

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO?

Just go to Dollar Tree and pick up a stuffed animal or doll (or whatever you wish really), and transform it into something spooky!  You can add things to it, paint it, combined two different things.  The only limitation is your imagination!

WHAT DO I DO WHEN I'M DONE?

Post your finished project (progress pictures with the finished project would be great!) to your social media.  Give it the hashtags: #dollartreeterrors #dollartree #artchallenge #octoberartchallenge #artwithmre

Paint Stick & Pastel Pumpkins

 We have been painting & talking about color, color mixing, blending..etc.  I thought it would be fun to try to transfer the ideas into an oil pastel pumpkin.  We used paint sticks for the background & oil pastels for the pumpkin.  I told them they had to use the background color in the pumpkin as well. 

Sunday Devotional With Mr. E: Continue

 As artists we take our life experiences, art experiences, training, and imagination everywhere we go.  Anything & Everything can be inspiration for our art.  Sketch books, napkins, digital collections fill up with promising concepts for future work! Making art becomes a basic need for existing.  However, there can be seasons of our life where we are not creating.  It happens: job, family, LIFE!  I've heard it said that it is like riding a bike...you just get back on & go.  I don't really feel that is true.  It is very easy to slip into bad habits, struggling to concentrate, and to becoming easily frustrated when we're out of the artistic habit of creating. I picture the artist like a pond.  It has all the makings for life & vibrancy, but with no input or output...it becomes stagnant!  It will take time to get yourself back into the swing of things.  With discipline and hard work you can once again see the fruits of your labor.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Colossians 2:6-7

Our walk with God is the same way.  Life can sometimes get in the way.  We find ourselves not reading our Bible, not spending time in prayer, lacking fellowship with believers, and forget about any kind of discipleship/mentoring going on.  When this happens, we come stagnant....disconnected....out of touch with The Giver of Life!   Our life no longer reflects one passionately seeking after God.  We stop seeing some of the exciting God things that use to be apart of our daily walk with Him.  He has never left.  He is still there in your life.  You just aren't seeing fruit.  Yes, we can confess our sin(which really it is...putting other things before God), and ask for the Lord to help us keep Him first in all things. Getting back into the Word, praying, and spending time with brothers and sisters in Christ(we're all hypocrites and slackers....they will welcome you back! Haha).  You will begin to see God's hand at work in your life, you will know He is with you(and never left you in the first place)...and the fruit will grow once more!  

Receiving Christ is where it STARTS....but we must be ROOTED in Him....and continue on!  Continuing on is not stagnant...it is active & moving!  Just like our faith (and art) should be!  

TGE Scarecrow at Cheekwood: Lady Rosinfair

Every year Cheekwood Gardens has their Cheekwood Harvest festival and invites area schools & organizations to create scarecrows to go along their garden pathway.  This year the theme was botanicals grown at the gardens.  I selected the Rosinweed.  Imagine a very tall yellow daisy type flower (I had not heard of it before?!?).  Last year was my first year to participate...and I learned a lot through my mistakes.  It will be up till the first of Nov.  Scroll down to read the amazing story my 2nd graders came up with. 

Lady Rosinfair  (inspired by the Rosinweed)

Lady Rosinfair came to life when a magical princess longed for a friend cast a spell on her favorite flower. They danced together as the breezes blew, shared secrets in the sunlight, and played together in the rain.  (based on ideas from second graders at TGE) 

 

Dollar Tree Glass Pen & Ink Set Review

I was so excited to try these out, and they did not disappoint! Check out how the Glass Pen & Ink set from Dollar Tree performed! 

Dollar Tree Metallic Marker Review

If you like metallic markers....check this review out.  

They are all from Dollar Tree, but not all things at Dollar Tree 

are created equally! 

It's that season again....

Practicum Student Season!!!!

(Yes, Pumpkin Latte Season too!?!?)

I'm very fortunate to live in a city that has a lot of universities!!!  I've had 13 student teachers, and countless practicum students.  I LOVE IT.  I truly enjoy working with the next generation of art educators, and sharing my love(and experience) for the profession with them.

I'm very excited about these two students from MTSU!! They are excited to learn & try new things....and they jumped right in and worked along side students.  I'll post there displays/posters/b-boards & their lessons when they get to that point! 

Sunday Devotional With Mr.E: The Van Gosh We Don't Know

 Vincent Van Gogh is one of my favorite artists.  Seeing his work in person is almost a religious experience.  The color, composition, and texture of his work can hold my gaze for untold amounts of time!  Most people know of Van Gogh, and might actually be able to pick his work out of a line up.  It has been a favorite for umbrellas, calendars, puzzles, mugs, and other printable items.  However, this is what most know about Van Gogh: Beautiful Art, Cut Off His Ear, and Killed Himself.  Based off of this knowledge, most people have great pity for the life he lived...and shake their head at the foolish loss. 

What about the Van Gogh we don't know? Vincent Van Gogh was a teacher, a pastor, and a missionary before embracing his call as an artist. Though he never lasted long in any of his previous "professions"...it reveals his heart for people & for God.  Yes, it is true he did have a deep internal struggle that led to his suicide. It is true he made some "bad" choices in his life.  However, he lived so much life in his 37 yrs on this earth that people do not consider. (Like he produced over 2000 works of art...many of those in the last decade.)  For him to be remembered as a sad/depressed man who cut his ear off....shows a lack of understanding & compassion.  We judge an aspect of his life without considering the man as a whole.  We look at the sad expression of his self portraits, and forget the smile of the sunflower!  

What am I getting at?  

WE ARE JUDGMENTAL HYPOCRITES!!   

(This section of scripture begins with the Pharisees trying to "trap" Jesus....bringing a woman that was caught in the act of adultery.)

When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.  Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.  At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.  Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?"  "No one, sir" she said.  "Then neither do I condemn you, " Jesus declared.  "Go now and leave your life of sin."  

John 8:7-11

We only allow people to see so much of our life.  We keep the things less desirable hidden/covered up.  We then point our fingers at those who do not choose to hide their "issues" and shake our head & wag our finger. (How often have I rolled my eyes at or dehumanize the Kardashians as idiots...instead of feeling a compassion for them?) You know what though, God knows us inside and out.  There are no hidden places with The Lord.  And yet...He deeply desires a relationship with us.  So much so that He came to Earth, showed us the way we should live, died on the cross for our sins, and rose again to give us new life in Him.  He doesn't throw the first stone...He is the first to reach out in LOVE!  There is no sliding scale for sin...sin is sin!!!  Yours is just as wrong as those you judge.  Yet He wants you to be His.  If the Lord can look through the eyes of love at us...why can we not extend the same to those around us.  We need to be less quick to judge & justify our own behavior based on the world....and quicker to extend the same love & grace given to us.  

Maybe I'm speaking to myself?  However, I think most of us do have areas we need to "adjust" to the Lord's heart.  What is your area(s) where you lack grace/compassion? 

 Ask the Lord to reveal it...and heal it!

October Art Challenge

 Join the fun!!! During the month of October create a creepy character using something from Dollar Tree. Cut it, add to it, paint it...whatever you need to do to make something fun and spooky! Post it to social media using #artchallenge #dollartreeterror anytime during the month! 

Eye See!

This is a great one day project.  We always start each year with portraits (well...after the collaborative project)....so this is a great next project.  It is a one day"er" too!! I start by giving each student a quarter sheet of paper to build upon.  We talk about covering the paper, having a different color for the eyelid, making sure to grab white & black, and then three other colors that will make up the iris.  We had discussed drawing an eye when doing our portraits, and I showed them how to transfer that eyedea (see what I did there ha ha  corny dad jokes for days people!!) over to collage.  Some struggled, but over all I thought these turned out pretty successful/fun!  

 

Sunday Devotional With Mr. E: Beyond Seeing

 Have you ever met someone that just don't seem to "GET" art in its various forms?  They see a painting...don't "get" it.....and dismiss its worth.  They listen to music that is out of their norm.. don't "get" it...and dismiss its worth.  Watch a specific type of dance...don't "get" it..and dismiss its worth.  There are many things I don't care for, but I am usually able to find something about most art & art forms that I'm able to appreciate.  Why is that?  I believe that one of the main reasons for this is that I have knowledge, understanding, and experience within the arts.  What I bring to an art experience allows me to appreciate works of art even if I don't "get" it.  I am able to pull out aspects of the work that connect back to my knowledge/understanding/experience, and I'm able to trust that the artist knew what they were doing or what they were trying to communicate through their work.   I'm able to see beyond what I'm seeing (or hearing).

Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?  

And don't you remember?   Mark 8:18

In this passage of scripture from Mark, Jesus is addressing the disciples.  If you read the context, you will see that the disciples just don't "get" it.  Part of me wonders how they could not "get" things when they had Jesus right their with them?  The other part of me is relieved by their lack of understanding....because a lot of the time I'm in the same boat as the disciples. How many times have I seen God work in my life, in others' lives, or read His Word, but I still live like I just don't "get" it. For some reason these things I've seen the Lord do have not found their way to my heart.  I doubt. I worry.  I stress.  I plot & plan.  I don't trust.  I don't understand.  I don't get it.  

Seeing is only the surface of understanding.  We have to ask God to take those things we've seen Him do in us, through us, and around us....and make it heart knowledge that truly impacts us...changes us!  That way when life throws a situation at us that we don't like the looks of.....we can still see God & trust that He will use all things for His glory(Romans 8:28).  Knowledge(seeing), understanding, and experiencing allows us to know He is trustworthy.  We can appreciate the situations of life that lead us into a deeper relationship with the Lord.  

I surprised my life long friend...

Jennifer Haught and I have been friends for over 40 years.  We were in the same class K-8th grade at Midway Elementary (Not River Elementary like they said in the video..it wasn't built way back then! ha).  We then went to River Highs School together.  We didn't have many classes together, but we had over an hour bus ride (one way) where we perfected our story telling and comedic chops!   Even though we went completely different directions after high school....we never lost touch.  There are forever friends.  The fact that we were both in education gives us much to talk about.  I admire her so very much.  She is the type of teacher you dream of having.  I watch the news online from back home, and saw they had the Golden Apple Award for educators.  I read the rules...and anyone could nominate a deserving person.  NO MORE DESERVING A PERSON THEN JENNIFER HAUGHT!!!  I was thrilled that she received the award...and it just about killed me that I couldn't tell her.  We need to be about the business of uplifting one another.  Teaching is not easy.  We need to spotlight the people that are making a difference...and who give the profession a great name!!  

CONGRADULATIONS JENNIFER!! 

So proud of you & the difference you are making in the Ohio Valley! 

Sunday Devotional With Mr. E: Don't Rush

Clay is all about the process.  It is not an art of immediacy.  You create & wait days for it to dry.  You place it in the kiln to fire & wait (usually close to 8 hrs plus time to cool down before opening the kiln).  You glaze the work, place it back into the kiln, fire it, & wait (another 8 hrs plus time to cool down before opening the kiln).  If you are all about instant gratification, clay is probably not for you.  If you try to fire the clay too soon it might explode.  If you open the kiln too quickly after firing the clay could crack from rapid cooling.  If you don't place enough coats of glaze on the clay before firing it again, the color could be less vibrant or the glaze will not fire to a beautiful glassy finish.  There are many things that could go wrong if you rush the process.  It takes time....and that's ok! 

Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.

Psalm 27:14

Our journey as believers is just that....a journey.  It is not something to be rushed.  You are where you are....and that's ok.  I've seen many become frustrated when they feel they should be "further" in their walk with God.  When they struggle with doubt, temptation, lack of knowledge, lack of experience....they beat themselves up over it. The fact that one is aware of these things shows that the Holy Spirit is at work.  The process we go through as we mature in our faith is one that takes time.  We cannot fall into the "microwave" mentality of our society.  Talk with those you see who are mature in their faith.  Allow them to share their experiences with you.  Most will tell you they are still on that journey.  It takes time...and that's ok!  Embrace the journey God has given you.  It is uniquely yours.  Don't rush to be where you cannot be without time & experience.

1st Week Collaborative Project

At the beginning of every year, I do a collaborative project with the whole school.  This year our theme is GROWING TOGETHER.  I thought leaves would be an appropriate subject matter.  We talked about color families & pattern.  Students used Sharpies to trace their pencil drawings & markers to color.  They were so beautiful & vibrant.  I  displayed them in 7 black frames around the main hall of our school & this large bulletin board in the 3rd-5th grade hall (all students pass it on the way to specials/related arts).  I'm so excited with how it turned out.  The students are loving hunting for their special leaf! (each student made two)  

 

Something New!

A friend of mine gave me a gift certificate for BLICK Art Supplies!  I've never ordered anything for myself from BLICK...just student grade art supplies for school.  Have you ever noticed how hard it is to narrow down what you want when are given a gift card/certificate?  I wanted to get the biggest bang for my buck.  I rarely ever spend big money on my personal art making.  I'm a teacher, husband, and father of three....I pinch pennies!!!  ha ha  I ended up getting this BEAUTIFUL watercolor set from Van Gogh. They are the botanical colors (I love to do nature paintings.)  I've not used them yet because I'm still trying to decide what layout makes sense for how I use my paint.  I'll be sure to share once I start painting.  If any of you have used Van Gogh, and have any ideas or tips to share...please leave them in the comments. 

 

Sunday Devotional With Mr. E: Dried Up Marker

 In the art room, markers are the deceivers, and one of my least favorite classroom supplies!  You know what you are getting with a broken crayon or colored pencil that needs sharpened.  They are still usable..  With markers you can't really tell till you try to color with them.  They look great on the outside, but looks are deceiving.  I've had brand new markers color like they were old and dried out & markers that were a couple years old work like new.  I test my markers a couple times a year to weed out the bad ones.  They take up space in the  box, slow down the process, and at times can damage the work by how they mark. No one had time in their life for dried up nasty markers!

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of bones and the dead and everything unclean.  In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

Matthew 23:27-28

If you continue on reading this section of scripture, you will see the Lord has little patience for hypocrites.  With good reason!  If you ask those that don't go to church or who have stopped going to church why...they will often say that churches are full of hypocrites.  You know what....THEY ARE RIGHT!  We are all hypocrites.  Some of us more/less often than others.  I'm not saying it is a real excuse...because the whole world is full of hypocrites (not just those who claim Christ).  However, shouldn't the church be different?  Of all places, shouldn't we be "WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET!"  In being real, we show Christ & His work in us. Playing church, wearing a "mask", saying we're just "FINE".... all of these things play into hypocrisy that the Lord & the world deplore.  Those seeking God will not see a place for themselves among all those mask wearing-church speaking-fine people.  We need to be real with our own lives & struggles so those seeking Him will see a place where they can be real with who they are. Too often Christians get in the way of God's work by playing church instead of BEING the church.  Non-Christians or new Christians are made to feel they have to speak, look or act a certain way to be a part of the "Christian Culture".  Change is the work of the Holy Spirit.  We need to embrace people where they are...and allow God to grow them in His perfect time!  I've seen non-Christians & new Christians develop major "issues" with church because of those in the church.  The body of Christ should be a place where people feel safe...trust...and do not fear being hurt by others. 

 I admit, we are not perfect...and we make mistakes...sometimes BIG mistakes.  However, we need to stop ACTING like Christians...and start BEING THE BODY OF CHRIST!  People are attracted to those living authentic lives.  Call it a white washed tomb...wearing a mask...or a dried up marker....there is no room for that in the church!  

Leading Profession Development in Elizabethtown,KY

I had the joy of leading professional development up in Elizabethtown, KY this past week. Even though I had to leave my house at 4:30 am (time zone difference) ha ha.   I was there leading PD in 2020 at the start of the pandemic.  It was so nice to return, and get to see everyone's face this time around!!  We had a jam packed day of art making & conversations.